


i think i understand

by americangentleman



Category: Newsies
Genre: Cute, Fluff, Gay, Javey - Freeform, M/M, Mutual Pining, Newsies - Freeform, Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-10
Updated: 2020-01-10
Packaged: 2021-02-27 08:26:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,258
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22194010
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/americangentleman/pseuds/americangentleman
Summary: "jackie!" race shoved right into the older male, catching him off guard. "what'cha starin' at? or shall i saw who?" he snickered.jack furrowed his brows, "n'one. why?""we all can clearly see s'methin' yous ain't," race pointed at the pair. "i'm sick an' tired of ya goo-goo eyes," he laughed again. he was clearly enjoying himself.“if yous wants the girl, get 'er!" race was very obviously pointing at davey and katherine now.
Relationships: David Jacobs/Jack Kelly, Jack Kelly/Davey Jacobs, Jack Kelly/David Jacobs, Javey
Comments: 1
Kudos: 68





	i think i understand

davey and katherine constantly found themselves together talking about recent political issues or coming up with the next great story. it started as only talking a little to almost never paying attention to anyone but les and occasionally anyone who wanted to know what they were doing. 

every morning they'd arrive together, laughing about something one of them said. jack didn't even realize he'd always stare at the two hitting it off like there was no tomorrow. 

"jackie!" race shoved right into the older male, catching him off guard. "what'cha starin' at? or shall i saw who?" he snickered.

jack furrowed his brows, "n'one. why?" 

"we all can clearly see s'methin' yous ain't," race pointed at the pair. "i'm sick an' tired of ya goo-goo eyes," he laughed again. he was clearly enjoying himself.

"right, an' i can says the same 'bout yous and albert," jack shot back jokingly. but, races face reddened.

"this ain't 'bout me! if yous wants the girl, get 'er!" race was very obviously pointing at debt and katherine now.

"what?" jack shoved race. "they're, like a....a thing? ain't they?" 

"i'll ask!" race started marching off. "ay kat—" jack quickly pulled him back harshly and covered his mouth. 

"shut it!" 

"you asked." race simply shrugged. he watched jacks expression shift, he could barely read it. "you jealous?"

"jealous? no. no, no." jack waved his hands and shook off the question. but it was almost instinctively he turned back to the two.

"right, right. i'll help ya get 'er!" race stuck out his chest confidently. 

"i don't want to date katherine!" jacks eyes went wide and he quickly shut his mouth.

"ooo," race's smile grew wider. "i shoulda seen this comin'. yous whipped for d-!" jack lightly pinched race to make him shut up.

he didn't know where his feelings for his friend came from, but they hit him hard. how he wished he could be talking to davey all the time instead of katherine.

"but, it's kind of obvious they're s'mething," jack sighed.

that's when race broke into laughter. "yous joking! say sike right now!" he hiccuped through his fit of giggles. jack stood there immensely confused. "'ight. let the professi'nal handle this," he finally said after he calmed down. 

he didn't stop race this time, a little frustrated but interested in what he could possibly do. he was out of hearing ranged so it looked like some silent film.

"wow dave, really takin' up all the time with the pretty lady ova here, ain't you?" race said slyly, resting a hand in katherines shoulder. "give another guy a chance, ya lovebird." 

"ah, oh. um, it's not like that," davey's face became pink. "we were just talking about how she wrote today's headline!" he showed race the papers. "see? great isn't it?" he had a bright smile on his face. 

"let me guess, you two worked on that for nights together?" race pretended to gag. 

"well...yeah. she asked. we both like writing and this is definitely a way for me to kickstart my english career," davey stated blankly, setting down the paper on the cart nicely. 

race rolled his eyes. "list'n. i'd like to borrow kath for who knows how long," he had a sneaky smile on his face. 

"can i ask why?" katherine shoved race's hand off her shoulder. 

"personal issue," race wasn't helping his case. wasn't he trying to convince davey to back off? "er are you two like...attached?" 

"no, no. actually, i have something to tell you too, race," she sounded somewhat bitter.

"that means skiddadle, yous got a boy waitin for ya over there. seems like you two haven't said a word to each other in, what? forever?" 

davey didn't say anything and walked over to jack, who was playing with les.

"you says yous got something for me?" race turned to her. he crossed his arms after putting an unlit cigar in his mouth. 

"i just want to tell you that you should lay off thinking davey and i are...something, please?" kath asked politely.

"why? you two really hittin' it off as i can see," race reasoned. was he helping jack anymore?

"no! we've just gotten really close! and, he does have a cute sister," katherine spit out quickly.

"man, why is everyone in love with a jacobs?"

katherine furrowed her brows, "hm?" 

"oh right! i came to tell ya mr, goo goo eyes over there," he pointed to jack, "keeps starin' at you two. i asked and i thought he'd had a thing for you but he really likes davey! he was jealous and i caught 'im in the act." he was overly proud of himself.

katherine cocked an eyebrow, "really?" she laughed a bit, "you know how much davey has talked on and on about jack some nights? a little tiring if you ask me. maybe that's why he's been avoiding jack."

race shook his head, "cowards."

"obviously we have to do something. they're not going to do it themselves." 

race turned his attention over to jack. he and davey seemed to be talking but not all that much, absolute nervous messes. 

"look at them! idiots," race scoffed. 

"we can set them up a little date?" katherine suggested.

"hmm... i can write 'em notes that are 'from each other' that can get 'em where we need them."

"that's so basic, race. i thought you were an expert at romance," katherine joked. "though you. ant even get your own love life together."

"zip it!" race flushed. "i ain't no expert! tha's romeo. 'nd i don't think it's too simple!" 

"i suppose it's the easiest and most likely to work best...fine. we can do that. i can easily take care of davey for two reasons. i'm with him most and you seemed to piss him off," katherine looked over at davey, who seemed to now be in an elated conversation with jack now. 

"i do that a lot," race snickered. "we can have it set up tomorrow. jack's rooftop thing he talks 'bout a lot? that seems special."

"it's private to him! we can't just invite davey there without permission!" 

race rolled his eyes, "whatever, whatever. then whatta you suggest, miss know it all?" 

"a nice restaurant?" she suggested.

"an' yer callin' me basic," race scoffed. 

"then why don't you just ask jack?" 

"thata give it away!" race whined. "this is harder than i thought..." 

"the theatre? jack had told me that medda doesn't have any shows or rehearsals for a while, so it should be open!" katherine came up with a new solution.

"is that really a spot to confess ya feelin's?" race was unamused by this point, tired of playing matchmaker for his helpless friends. "they're oblivious, it's...gross!" he pretend to gag.

"let's just agree on the theatre, alright? you write jack a sappy note thats from david and give it to him before tonight. i'll make one for david." katherine concluded, holding her hand out for a handshake.

race, following tradition, spit in his hand a shook her hand. she was disgusted but somewhat used to it at this point. they parted ways and returned to their buddies.

"what'd she say? yous were talkin' for a painfully long time," jack stammered nervously. he was still a mess from his interaction with davey.

"nothin'," race smirked. "she's whipped for him."

jack bit down on his lip. "oh. cool." 

~•~  
later that night crutchie hobbled to his room with the mail in his hand. from time to time ms. medda would let them stay with her. they had their own rooms and everything. medda was like a mother to them. he tossed the letters into the counter and skimmed through them. he found one with "jack" written on it in pretty cursive writing.

"jack! there's somethin' for ya!" crutchie called. jack waltzed into the kitchen after hearing his name. 

"what's that?" he pointed at the note crutchie was holding.

"dunno. jus' found it in the pile." crutchie handed it to him.

jack opened it and read it quickly, a smile growing on his face. "it's from kath, she wants to meet me in the theatre in...," he looked up at the clock, "fifteen minutes." the more he thought about the possible reasons, the less he wanted to go.

crutchie watched his smile fade. "why the long face, jackie?"

"she uh...she probably wants to ask me how to ask davey out or somethin'," he muttered under his breath. thankfully crutchie had good ears.

"what's so wrong wit' that?" crutchie furrowed his brows. 

"nothin'! obviously, why would that be wrong? it's fine," jack rubbed his neck. that was a nervous habit he seemed to develop without realizing it.

crutchie studied jack before it clicked. "oh! you like davey? awh! jack!" he didn't exactly hop with excitement, it was a somewhat suspended one. more of a celebratory dance.

"ah shut it, kid!" jack lightly shoved his brother as he walked past him.

"yous gonna go?" 

jack took a moment to think about it, stopping in his tracks. he nodded after a few seconds, "yeah. doesn't hurt to help a friend." crutchie frowned a bit as he watched jack head out the door and for the theatre.

•~•  
while that happened, kathrine was over at the jacobs yet again for another writing session with the older siblings. sarah and davey were talking about something that happened that day until katherine cleared her throat, interrupting. 

"um, davey. i found this for you. i don't know who it's from," she handed him the letter that ha sh is name on it in bold lettering.

his eyebrows rose as he read through it. "oh, it's from albert. i don't know why specifically the theatre. especially tonight and so suddenly."

"you gonna go, david?" sarah asked. "seems urgent by the way it's written. when did you get this, kath?" 

"on my way over he gave it to me and ran off without a word," she lied. she had experience with lying because her father would never let her do anything. 

"what if it's something to do with race?" he was mostly talking to himself. he nodded, "oh, definitely. i better see what's up this time." he laughed to himself, "you two don't do anything you're not supposed to do." and he was off.

~•~ 

jack wandered the empty theatre, a little confused as to no one was there. "kath? katherine!" he called out. but there was no response.

he hummed go himself as he walked across stage. it was empty as there was no show going on. he's usually be there to paint backdrops for the shows late into the night. 

one of the stage doors opened and slammed shut, making jack jump. "h'llo?" he called. "kath?" 

instead of katherine walking onto stage, it was davey. jack look as confused as ever. "whatta you doin' 'ere?" 

"i got a letter from albert. he didn't specify why eh wanted me here, but here i am!" davey explained, showing him the letter.

"oh, well katherine wrote me one. she didn't tell me why either..," he showed davey his note.

"kath wrote you that? she's currently at my place with sarah right now..." david responded quietly.

jack nodded, realizing what was going on. "well, while we're here, i can help ya out with somethin'." he took a seat on the apron, davey joined him.

"with what?"

"to ask out kath! i'm surprised you two aren't a thing by now," he laughed solemnly to himself.

davey was more confused than before. he faced jack and took a moment to respond. "you thank kath and i...you think we have a thing?" 

"yeah, every'ne knows," jack faced davey as well. he was convinced he was right.

"yeah, everyone know that she really likes my sister sarah. katherine and i have been working on stuff together but at this point it's her excuse to see my sister," david laughed. "you really thought i liked katherine? gosh jack kelly, i didn't know how oblivious you were."

jack scoffed, "me? the oblivious one?"

"if you recall what you jus-"

"i heard ya, i heard ya," jack waved him off. it seemed to be getting hotter in the room and he tugged at his shirt collar.

"i'd like to date someone but they wouldn't feel the same," davey sighed. "and that person isn't katherine. not even close."

"it's beautiful stupid if someone rejected you. maybe the worst mistake of their life."

davey shook his head. "yeah right. i think it's just my fault for falling for oblivious dorks." 

jack bit down on his lips. it hurt him to hear davey he so open about the fact he liked someone and jack knew it wasn't him.

"who is it? i could help ya!" jack smiled through his thoughts. it was better to force everything away for him anyway.

davey rolled his eyes. "you frustrate me." before jack could respond their lips were connected. jack didn't remember for how long, but it felt like all time stopped and he could just kiss davey forever. 

they pulled away, out of breath but smiling at each other. "i think i...i think i get it now."

"finally!" davey shoved him. 

"just to clarify, i like yous a lot. but i never planned on tellin' ya," jack covered his red face. 

"well, i think you know my answer," davey laughed bashfully. 

jack looked back at davey's lips again and up at his eyes. davey didn't have to answer as he brought them into another heartfelt kiss.


End file.
